


(coffee) shop talk

by shipskicksandgiggles



Series: Lazy Saturday parknerprompts [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst, Asexual Harley Keener, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Hopeful Ending, I'm Sorry, M/M, Peter is an asshole, Trans Harley Keener, Transphobia, only a little tho, please don't murder the author they're trying their best, this one was rough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 12:50:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20471321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipskicksandgiggles/pseuds/shipskicksandgiggles
Summary: What happens when Wednesday doesn't go according to plan





	(coffee) shop talk

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry in advance. I planned on writing fluff, but when does anything I plan actually work
> 
> prompt was #4- embarrassment/regret

Date night was every Wednesday. Peter had asked him out (read: screamed until Harley agreed to take him for coffee) on a Wednesday. They had their first official date on a Wednesday. Their first kiss? Also on Wednesday. Therefore, the weekly tradition had started. 

The pattern had been set for the past 4 months. What was so different about this Wednesday? Harley woke up that morning with butterflies in his stomach making him nauseous. He couldn’t stop fidgeting all day. His anxiety was acting up for no apparent reason. 

He worked with Tony all day which helped a little. The hum of machines under his hands was grounding. So what if he overworked himself a little? The motor oil on his shirt was hardly noticeable. 

This weeks date was at a small Italian restaurant Tony recommended. One owned and operated by immigrants. The atmosphere was cozy, the lighting toned to the perfect dimness to suggest romance. He’d left the lab early at Tony’s insistence to clean up and change into a grey suit. He had called the restaurant to confirm their reservation while picking out a tie. Reservation confirmed, he opted to leave the tie out. It was a good look on him, he decided looking in the mirror. 

Looking at the clock, he realized he was early. If he stopped for flowers on the way, he would be right on time. 

Walking into the flower shop was like taking a breath of fresh air. Why people think the smell of flowers is overwhelming, he’ll never know. A small elderly woman behind the counter helped him find the perfect arrangement. Roses, Harley will argue for the rest of time, are classy when done right, and this woman knew her shit. 

Bouquet in hand, he walk the rest of the way to the restaurant. Peter would meet him there. 

They arrived at the same time. Harley presented the flowers to his boyfriend, who blushed and took him with a soft ‘thank you.’ The hostess lead them to a small table lit by candles and set with glasses of wine. The menu was small and elegant. Each dish had been crafted with care by an older generation of the family. 

After scanning over the menu, Harley ordered for both of them in Italian. Peter looked like he wanted to say something about that, but Harley speaking another language was mildly distracting. 

The food was incredible, paired with its own wine. Dessert was even better, what with Italian espresso to sip with it.

Happily sated with the rich food, the two took a slow walk around the neighborhood. Lights had been strung between the buildings, probably to trap teenage photographers, but romantic nonetheless. Harley never wanted this to end, he thought as he turned to look at his love.

Peter looked ethereal under the soft lighting. It highlighted the freckles scattered over his cheeks and the sharp curve of his jawline. His smile was small, yet breathtaking. When he finally looked up at him, it was from under his lashes. Suddenly they were pressed together, kissing like they needed it to survive. 

A cab pulled up next to them and Peter pulled them into it, growling his address to the driver and closing the partition. He immediately tried crawling into Harley’s lap, flowers dumped on the floor forgotten. Only then did Harley realize his panic. 

“Stop,” he gasped when Peter started kissing along his neck. “Baby, wait.”

Peter whined as he pulled back, but it gave Harley space to breathe. “Let’s get back to your apartment first, then we’ll talk about it, okay?”

He flopped onto his seat. “Yeah alright.”

Based on the flush that coated the skin visible under his navy suit, Peter wasn’t unaffected. Harley felt sick. 

~~~

The rest of the ride was quiet. Harley paid the cabby and opened the door for Peter. Once they were inside the small apartment, the flowers were placed in a vase. The tension was at an all time high, and Harley wasn’t entirely sure he’d make it through this without throwing up. He was about to speak up, but Peter exploded first.

“What is with you tonight?” he demanded. “You’re unbelievably sexy, act like a perfect gentleman, manage to turn me on in the middle of the goddamn restaurant,” he let out an exasperated huff. “Honestly it was like you were fucking asking for sex!”

“I’m asexual!” Harley yelled. Everything felt like it was on fire. He felt the heat from the tip of his ears to down past his neck. All he wanted to do was disappear. “I’m sex-repulsed asexual,” he whispered. Tears started to fall down his face.

The silence was deafening. Peter stared at him in pure shock as he broke down. 

“I’m sorry, Peter. I should have told you. I should never have led you on, but you gotta let me explain baby please-”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Harley did. “Four months, Harley. Four months. And you never told me.” Peter’s voice was low, threatening. The angel from under the lights gone, replaced by someone too dark. “Was this all a game to you? To trick me into believing that you really love me?”

“I do love you, sweetheart. Just listen-” 

“Clearly by lying to me about who you are, you love me. Like you really care about me. God,” Peter sniffed. His laugh was hollow. 

“I never lied!” he was determined to hear his argument through. “I’m attracted to guys romantically! It’s just,” he sighed, “telling people I’m ace upfront never worked, so I started saying I was gay and wouldn’t have sex! I never wanted to hide it, but sometimes you have to!”

“Oh so that’s what this is about?” He was far to angry and all Harley wanted to do was leave. “What else are you hiding? Don’t tell me you have a vagina down there too.”

He stayed quiet. “Oh my fucking god. You actually do. You’re actually fucking trans.” Peter scoffed. 

“I wanted to tell-”

“If you wanted to, you would have, you absolute fucking coward.” Peter turned away from him, shoulders visibly shaking.

“Get the fuck out of my apartment.”

“Peter, please-” Harley was on his knees, sobbing.

“No. We’re done, over. I’ve got nothing for you. Zero, zip, nada. No trust. _Liar_.”

Harley couldn’t stop crying. He was bawling his eyes out and it felt like it would never end. “Baby, please. I’m begging you!” he screamed. His voice had gone hoarse.

“I’m gonna say this once, Harley. Get the _fuck_ out of my apartment, and never come back. We’re done.” As if to make his point even more clear, he ripped Harley off the ground and opened the door. He shoved Harley out into the hall where he promptly collapsed again under the weight of his regret. 

The door slammed behind him. Harley sat for a while, waiting for it to open back up and welcome him home into the arms of his love. Waiting for this nightmare to be over.

Time was hazy, but it had to have been at least an hour later when Harley picked himself up off the doormat to drag himself home. Once he was on the street again he wandered aimlessly for hours. He knew he was lost. He just didn’t care. 

When he was aware of his surrounding again, he found himself in front of the coffee shop where they had their first date. With the sun just coming up, he could see another person standing by the door, crying. 

The boy was small. He wore jeans and a sweatshirt and a beanie hair over his tousled hair. He reminded Harley so much of Peter on that first date that he almost started crying all over again.

He looked up, and Harley did start crying. 

“_Peter_.” The name broke in his mouth. 

Peter walk over to him and just stood there. “I should have listened to you,” he said. “Yelling was a bad idea, and I’m sorry.”

Harley looked up at him, the tiniest sliver of hope in his eyes. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You have a lot of shit that went wrong on your side too, mister.”

He nodded. There was so much he needed to say, but he didn’t know how. 

“Can we start over?” he asked.

“We can try.”

“Oh god thank you, thank you, thank you!” Harley went to his knees again. He couldn’t hold himself up any longer. 

Only this time, Peter sank with him. “We can start here, okay? Same place as last time. Use this to talk like adults.”

“Okay.”

Peter helped him up, and together they walked inside.

And if their date nights were moved to Thursday mornings? Well really who could blame them.

**Author's Note:**

> if you want to yell at me for this, you can find me on tumblr at [parallelparkner](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/parallelparkner/)


End file.
